First Seventh-day Adventist Church

My name is Darlene Harmon. I am an active member of Columbia First SDA Church in Lexington, SC. Following is our story.

In April 2022, Columbia First SDA Church Sanctuary was deemed unsafe due to structural issues. In that month, an insurance claim was filed for the repair of roof. In May 2022, the insurance claim was DENIED due to no fault of our own. Please understand that we made every insurance payment timely. This was a devastating blow! A number of inspections ensued and resulted in a NON FINANCIALLY VIABLE repair. After months of inspections by several architects, a truss specialist, and a forensic engineer, our sanctuary was condemned and we were told that it wasn't a matter of IF the building would collapse, it was WHEN. Tho many prayers were uttered and many tears shed, our place of worship for 40+ years was to be brought down. In January, 2024, the demolition began. So many hearts continue to be broken due to the blood, sweat and tears poured into our beautiful old sanctuary.

We praise God for His Divine Protection for all who entered this place during a time that we were unaware of the hazards above us and we are looking forward to what He has in store for the future. In the meantime, we are struggling to raise money to build our new sanctuary. The cost as of now is in the neighborhood of $2 Million dollars. We have $1 Million dollars which was donated by South Carolina Conference. Inflation is rising rapidly and as of now, estimates at this writing are $300+ per square foot. We are humbly asking your assistance in making this new sanctuary a reality.